Saving energy = Saving money

Last year the City received $170,300 for the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the Department of Energy as a result of stimulus funding from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The funds are to be used for activities that reduce fossil fuel emissions, reduce energy usage within the municipality, or improve energy efficiency.

City Council approved the majority of the EECBG funds to be used to replace the aged pumps at the City’s water treatment plant pump. Currently, the pumps consume the most overall electricity within the City’s municipal operations, or about $200,000 each year. The pumps are 50 years old and inefficient. Replacing two of the pumps with new, variable-speed pumps is estimated to save the City $43,000 in electricity each year.

The pumps are being manufactured and will be delivered by the end of the year. Installation and testing of the pump is expected to be completed by January 2011.

The EECBG grant was going to cover only a portion of the cost of the project, and the City had planned to finance the remaining cost, originally estimating that the project would pay itself back in energy savings in about 12.5 years.

Great News #1: Public Works Director Wilmer Melton was able to secure a $45,000 grant from Duke Energy through their Smart $aver Incentive program to put towards the water treatment plant project. This leverages the federal dollars we received and further reduces the remaining amount of the project that the City has to cover. Thanks Duke Energy!

Great News #2: The project was originally estimated to cost $457,000, including engineering/design and construction of the pumps. The bids came in much lower, and the revised project cost is now $244,000 – a savings of about 40%! The payback period for energy savings is now less than 6 years! Doing projects in a down economy is working in the City’s favor here.

Great News #3: Now the City has reduced the portion it needs to contribute for this project to about $41,000, or only 17% of the total project cost. In other words, the money that the City will save in electricity costs in the first year of operation with the new pumps will already pay for the City’s cost in the project!

This is a win-win-win for the City, taxpayers, and the environment. For a brief overview of other City stimulus fund projects, go to page 6 of this past spring’s Kannapolis Magazine.